Global perspective on digital preservation policy: A systematic review

Abstract

Policy provides a roadmap for actions to be taken in any task. It plays an important role in successful implementation of any program. Similarly, the presence of policy also plays a key role in implementation of digital preservation program. The organizations having such policy hold an edge for carrying out their digital preservation activities in an organized manner. This paper provides an explicit overview regarding preparedness of libraries and other organizations across the world in terms of availability of policies for digital preservation. The paper also attempts to map the data geographically. The empirical studies were reviewed systematically, and the extracted data was synthesized for producing meaningful insight about this phenomenon. The meta-analysis affirms that libraries and other organizations seem to have realization about importance of policies for implementation of digital preservation program. Although some studies highlight the availability of digital preservation policies in a good number of organizations yet, as a whole, most of the studies point out passive organizational attitude toward the development of such policies. The data mapping affirms that the studies conducted worldwide and North American region show a satisfactory situation in terms of availability of digital preservation policies. However, the studies conducted in European countries, African region, China, and New Zealand identify a gap regarding presence of such policies.

The digital preservation 101 guide for small libraries

“…To initiate digital preservation activities, in the beginning, small libraries need to identify and assess critical digital objects, conduct a comprehensive inventory of digital collections, and decide on preservation actions. Well-crafted policies and protocols are essential that can provide guidelines through the preservation process (Ahmad and Rafiq, 2022b). Such protocols play an instrumental role in identifying responsibilities, roles and workflows for the preservation programs.…”

Preserving cultural heritage: digital preservation in small community libraries

“…Digital preservation is a slightly newer phenomenon for memory institutions (Ahmad and Rafiq, 2022a, 2022b). There is a lack of worldwide training opportunities on this topic (Ahmad and Rafiq, 2022a).…”